A family begins to heal

Wednesday

Nov 20, 2013 at 11:36 AM

Luke Smucker

The physical presence of Pontiac Police Officer Casey Kohlmeier and his K-9 Draco may be no more, but the values, attitude, desire and dedication to the community the pair enshrined lives on, bound in the heart and spirit of Kohlmeier's nine-year-old sister Ryli Schmidt and the newest addition to the Schmidt family, Star, a purebred Belgian Malinois like Draco, who began life as a stillborn this year just nine days after Kohlmeier's June 5 birthday.The American Kennel Club recognizes the Belgian Malinois as one of four types of Belgian sheep herding dogs known for their alertness and high-energy. The breed is popular as both a police and military working dog and although sometimes mistaken for the German Shepherd, the Malinois breed is known to be more elegant in build and lighter-boned, but does not lack for strength, or agility.Just the notion of finding a dog like Draco — a chance to begin bringing stability and closure to an emotional wound — was enough incentive for Ryli Schmidt to pursue a goal in which the only outcome could be a Belgian Malinois with the ability to serve the community."The day after the accident, I told her maybe we would look for a Malinois like Draco. It just came to me because she was so sad," said Keri Schmidt. "I just said it; I didn't think it would happen like this. I didn't even think there would be puppies born at this time of the year. My husband Donny took it upon himself to help her look at a few places online, just to get her started. He looked a little bit, but ultimately she found it. She's like Casey, you get one thing on your mind and you're not stopping."Over and over Ryli Schmidt would attempt to coax her mother to the computer monitor to look at her latest find; just to dream. Eventually, she came across the AKC website and a name. Her heart was set, but Keri Schmidt was still apprehensive.'Mom can you call somebody?' Keri Schmidt recalls her daughter asking. "My initial response was, 'No. I'm not calling anybody right now; just email her.' She got the email all setup by herself and the only thing she asked me was, 'how do you spell Malinois?'" The young girl sent the email to Sally Atterberry, a breeder and member of the American Belgian Malinois Club in Oakford.Atterberry questioned the initial email and soon the breeder was on the phone with Pontiac Police to confirm and discuss the inquiry. She had a suspicion that someone was trying to scam her. Dan Davis, Pontiac Police Department Major, came to their house to ask if Ryli Schmidt had emailed somebody. "I initially didn't know what he was referring to," said Keri Schmidt. " Then he showed us the print out of Ryli's email. He said if she wanted a puppy, the breeder would give it to her for free."Ryli Schmidt and her mother had a discussion. The two concluded that the dog would be a family dog, but first and foremost the dog would have to be able to give back to the community, to do search and rescue, or possibly be a comfort dog for families and victims. "We don't want her to be a dog who sits on a dog bed all day, we want her to give back and make Casey and Draco proud. We'd love to volunteer with her if something comes up. We want to travel anywhere and give. That's the way I've been my entire life. I was a hospice nurse and a nurse for 18 years, so I was always the one who had to comfort everyone and be there for everybody."A call was eventually made to Atterberry and Ryli Schmidt continuously asked her mother whether the breeder had called back. Eventually Keri Schmidt discussed with her daughter the possibility that another dog of another breed may need to be chosen if their call wasn't returned."I suggested possibly looking for another kind of dog. Different types of dogs can do different types of tracking and I was trying to prepare her because she gets her hopes up just like Casey does; she is just like Casey in that way too. I really tried to not get her hopes up because I didn't want to break her heart again," said Keri Schmidt. "She continued to hold strong to her belief, she'd say, 'no I want a Belgium Malinois.'"Atterberry did call back. She initially told Keri Schmidt she had one male puppy left and her daughter could have him. However, the more the breeder talked to Keri Schmidt, she eventually divulged that she had a female puppy too. It was special to the family and they had intended to keep her as a family dog. She then told Keri Schmidt the story of Star's birth. Star was born dead. Atterberry had to do mouth-to-snout resuscitation on her for about a half hour, but gave up after the dog showed no signs of life. "Right after she pronounced the dog dead, Star took her first breath. She immediately took Star into her arms and cuddled with her for hours," said Keri Schmidt. "She was really special to the family, but over the phone she said, "well I might have a little female, of course she can pick from whichever one she wants.'"The hardest part for Keri Schmidt was not spilling the news to her daughter. She vaguely coaxed her daughter into the car saying they needed to go pick up something someone had for them in Southern Illinois. Soon Keri, Ryli and a family friend were packed into their vehicle for the two-hour drive."The whole time we were texting her because we thought we were going to get lost," Keri Schmidt recalls. "As I was looking at signs, I said 'well Oakford should be a few miles away' out loud and Ryli immediately popped up and said 'Oakford?! that's the place where that Sara lady lives.' and I had to play it off like, 'what Sara lady?' and she continued, 'that Sara lady has a puppy.'"The family soon pulled their vehicle into the driveway and met Atterberry outside. Keri recalls it was dark outside and Ryli couldn't tell where they were. She then asked her daughter to ask the person greeting them if she knew Sara Atterberry. The breeder bent down and shook Ryli's hand and said, "What would you say if my name was Sara Atterbery?" and Ryli's mouth dropped open. "Ryli picked her out. We saw the boy and he was really timid and wouldn't come near us. Then they let Star out. She told Ryli it was their special dog. It came out, licked me in the face and then went over to her and just started licking her non-stop — it was all over. They gave her to us. It was just one of so many random acts of kindness."Since then, Ryli has had a four-legged furry shadow. Keri says everywhere her daughter went, Star would follow. They other family had already named her Star, so the Schmidts kept the name, but there are also other coincidences which Schmidt believes tie the dog to her lost son. One is the fact that the original family named her Star before the event ever happened and a star is the symbol on the police badge. Star also has a sibling in South bend, Ind., whose name just happens to be Casey. "I have a lot of pictures of Casey and Draco doing all this stuff in the yard and when we let her out in the yard for the first time, I thought she looked exactly like Draco," said Keri Schmidt. "It just gives you goosebumps; she's awesome. She made my little girl smile again."